A vaporizer of an electronic cigarette comprises a liquid holder forming a chamber with a filler material retaining a liquid to be vaporized, a heating element, input terminals connected to the heating element for electrically powering the heating element, and a vapour output, whereby the vaporizer is to generate vapour emerging from the vapour output when a current flows through the input terminals in the heating element. In operation, in the electronic cigarette an air flow is detected, generated by a user drawing in air through the electronic cigarette. The detection of the flow triggers a supply of electrical power from a battery to the input terminals of the heating element, which as a consequence heats up and causes part of the liquid in the vaporizer to vaporize. The vapour emerging from the vapour output of the vaporizer then mixes with the air drawn in by the user.
Since this effect is crucial in the functioning of an electronic cigarette, in the manufacture of the electronic cigarette quality needs to be assured in that a proper functioning of the vaporizer is to be verified in a test. This test can be performed on a vaporizer as such, or on a vaporizer as part of an assembly including the vaporizer, such as a complete electronic cigarette. If the test shows that the vaporizer malfunctions, then the vaporizer, or the assembly including the vaporizer, is to be rejected and removed from a production line for discarding or analysis of the defect.
With the required high production rate in electronic cigarette manufacturing industry, the test should be performed mechanically and automatically, without human intervention, in particular manual intervention.
Thus, a need exists to provide an apparatus and method to satisfy such requirement.